Yully closed her eyes and reached out towards her father. Power flowed from Xander and Jule, through her toward the Other, pinning him against the pillar behind him. A loud crack, as if lightning were striking, sent a shockwave of power that made the monument tremble.
And then there was silence. Jule caught the woman as she fell. He heard a gurgled scream and looked up. The Original Vamp was tearing out the Other's throat. Xander raised the Other over his head and snapped his back over one knee.
"Yully," Jule called, cradling the woman in his arms. Her heartbeat was faint and slow. "C'mon, sweetheart. Stay with me." The bond between them was fading.
"Take her to Bianca," Damian said, approaching. "Unless healing is one of your newfound powers."
Jule looked up at him. The White God's fiery gaze was pinned to the Original Vamp, who lingered over the Other's body. Jule glanced at the vamp, who shrugged in response to his silent question about healing.
"Xander, what are you?" Jonny asked, drawing abreast of Damian. "And what was that?" He indicated the body of the Other at Xander's feet.
Jule gathered the woman in his arms. He couldn't yet understand the magic in his veins, unleashed by the vamp without any explanation of its depths.
"Damian," Jule said, standing with his mate cradled in his arms. The White God's power pulsed around him, and he looked ready to blast the vamp before him.
"I know, I know. Tell Dusty not to blow everything up, and leave the vamp alone," Damian said. "Go on. We're just going to chat."
If not for Yully's fading energy, Jule would've stayed to make sure Damian's version of chat resembled his and not Dusty's, who was more likely to shoot first and discuss later. Instead, he closed his eyes and Transported to the ranch.
"You'd think if you're a god, people wouldn't keep secrets from you," Damian started. "Jonny, to answer your question, Xander is an Original Being, one of the handful of the oldest immortals in existence."
"Wow," Jonny breathed.
Damian looked at him, irritated at the Black God's youth. While he would never claim to miss Jonny's crazy predecessor, Czerno, at least the former Black God was capable of a poker face. The kid beside him was openly gaping in awe at the massive vamp.
"As is Jule," Xander added. "Seems he kept that secret from you as well, ikir."
"I knew I could trust him to tell me when he needed to," Damian replied. "You, on the other hand, I don't trust."